The size of the exhibition at Gamescom keeps increasing with each season, and this year’s Gamescom will cover at least 10% more space than before. There will be over 16 pavilions, and the exhibition will see contributors from around the world, from countries as diverse as Taiwan, Brazil and Sweden.

To give you some idea of just how large Gamescom actually is, you should be aware that last year’s event was attended by over 350 thousand guests. And we mustn’t forget the hardware. You can expect excellent exhibitions from Asus and Razer, as well as Roccat and HP.

And then, of course, there are esports; and representatives of ESL and the Gamer Legion, will be at Cologne, as well as ALLESPORTS and a vast number of other companies.

Applications are open for Gamescom’s famous awards

Every company is competing to have their game dominate at Gamescom. There is a large variety of different awards, including one for the best game streamer. Details are on Gamescom’s site, and you have until the 1st of August to apply.

There are over 29 awards in different categories, covering various aspects of the gaming or esports industry. An international jury will determine the winners. These awards will be made public on the very first day of the event.

For those who have a definite interest in these gaming awards, some of the genres include action games, casual and family games, multiplayer and puzzle gaming, as well as racing games, RPGs and simulators. It goes without saying that there are dozens of other categories, including some in virtual reality.

Awards for the consoles

There are also awards based on various consoles, such as the Nintendo, the Xbox One, the PS4, the PC and the mobile. Besides these, there are voted awards that will, obviously, be voted on by people at Gamescom, and by consumers. The king of all the awards is the “Best of Gamescom”. Last year, this was won by the Super Mario Odyssey. Let’s see who wins it this year.

Spain is the official partner in 2018

You may not have heard that Spain will officially be partnering Gamescom this year, even though the event itself is, of course, being held in Cologne, in Germany. The reasons why Spain has been chosen for this partnership are obvious, it being one of the most massive gaming markets in all of Europe, ranking fourth.

Germany ranks first, with the United Kingdom taking second place, and with France coming third. Despite this, however, it is the first time that Spain has partnered to host Gamescom in the event’s history.

Image Credit: Gamescom

Spanish gaming on the international scene

A full one hundred square meters will be devoted to the Spanish gaming industry, which will allow Spanish gaming a much needed window into the international scene. Besides workshops and talks by various people in the Spanish gaming industry, there will also be game demos, as well as a guide to Spanish games and gaming.

An active development scene

Spain isn’t just one of the biggest markets in the European sector, but also has a very active development community, and a very strong gaming culture. What’s more, Spain’s government has also recently allocated a considerable amount in funding towards supporting Spain’s burgeoning games industry.

This means that not only is Spain’s support for Gamescom very relevant, but Gamescom also potentially provides a massive boost to the Spanish gaming industry.

Just how large is that industry?

With nearly 500 companies, and close to 150 gaming studios, the Spanish gaming industry employs nearly 5000 gaming professionals, including artists and programmers, as well as entrepreneurs and game designers. The industry’s turnover crossed about 600 million euros last year.

The latest gaming titles are on display at Gamescom

A complete list of games on display has not been published yet, but we do know some of the big names that will be featured here. It goes without saying that the fifth avatar of Devil May Cry will be one of the big attractions at this year’s Gamescom, and fans who can manage the queues will be able to play a preview of the game’s epic combat sequences. The game is slated for release in spring of next year, so fans at Capcom will be playing it well ahead of time.

The Farm 51’s World War 3 will also be one of the main features of this year’s event. The game is a shooter on the scale of a battle-royale. Fans also went wild at E3 at the demos of Cyberpunk 2077, and the game will be featured at Capcom as well.

And then of course, there’s Blizzard

Most of Blizzard’s big titles will be represented at Gamescom, including Star Craft II, Heroes of the Storm, Diablo III, World of Warcraft, and of course, Overwatch.

World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth is of special interest, because it will launch on the 14th of August. And don’t forget all the cosplay competitions, which are always a major attraction at Gamescom. Blizzard tends to have a cosplay and dance section that is all its own. Another attraction, of course, is all the great merchandise that you can always find in the store in Blizzard’s section of Gamescom.

Another section to visit when you’re at Gamescom is the Bandai Namco section

The company will be bringing eleven titles to the event, and all of these will be accessible to gamers at the event. You can play these exciting games well ahead of release, and the developers have said that there will be a few surprises unveiled at the event as well.

One of the games there will be the sixth avatar of Soul Calibur. We’ll also be seeing Dragon Ball FighterZ Switch, as well as Code Vein, One Piece World Seeker, and much more.

Will the Nvidia GTX 1180 be featured at Gamescom?

No Gamescom event would be complete without a presence by Nvidia, and you can expect to try out the Nvidia GTX 1180 there.

As of the moment, the GTX 1080 dominates the market, and can handle even the most resource intensive games without the slightest problem. This doesn’t mean that avid gamers aren’t looking to the next generation of Nvidia gaming hardware.

So what will the GTX 1180 be capable of?

Well, you can expect to play even resource intensive games at 4K resolutions, and at refresh rates that exceed 144 Hz. Rumours have it that the card is also very VR friendly, and can handle outputs of 120 Hz or more in VR. Partially, this capacity is due to its 16 GB of memory – DDR6, no less. These chips are being manufactured by Micron, and they have already gone into mass production. The card is likely to have 3584 CUDA cores, clocking in at around 1.8 GHz.

How Gamescom could affect the esports betting scene

It goes without saying that Gamescom is one of the biggest trade shows of the year, and that it sets trends in the industry. Companies continually alter the gameplay of esports titles, and these changes could have drastic consequences in how successful various teams are, and therefore directly influence the esports betting scene.

Therefore, Gamescom events are best attended by the veteran esports gambling man, as observing trends as they gather strength can allow one to bet ahead of the curve. This can mean considerable profits, if you identify a trend in the industry in the initial stages, and take advantage on it to bet on lower odds and on teams that are similarly ahead of the curve.

A shifting balance of power

It’s all about the balance of power, and as changes are made to the titles, this can and does shift the balance of power between teams in the esports sector.

The PLAYERUNKNOWN Charity Challenge

One thing that esports gambling men might want to have their eye on is the Charity Challenge by PLAYERUNKNOWN.

This is a joint production by PUBG and ESL, and you can catch it at Gamescom this year. This event will consist of twelve exciting matches, to be played out over the course of three days. It’s all live, so if you are deeply interested in esports gambling, you may want to be one of the audience.

The considerable power of ESL in the esports industry is firmly behind PUBG, as the esports giant hosts more than 600 teams in the qualifiers for the PUBG Global Invitational. With ESL and PUBG cooperating in the biggest PUBG event ever, we can look to an ever expanding gambling scene in this sector in the future. The Charity Challenge at Gamescom is a preview of things to come.

Image Credit: ESL / Hans Oelschlägel

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